Tetra and the Megalomanic Megalodon
by katherineguyana
Summary: Based on a Story by gamermaster789 on DeviantArt.
1. The Cup That Started a War

WARNING: This is a Sonic Fanfiction. If you don't like Sonic, or don't want to read any fanfics, then I'd suggest that you hightail it out of here.

Once upon a time, there was an island south of Angel Island called… South Island. On this island was the bustling Gigalopolis, home to just over 150,000 Mobians; and just outside of that city was the beautiful seaside community of Turquoise Hill, with a more modest population of 1,200.

Today was a particularly busy day at the beach there. A family of sea lions was having a barbecue, two swallows were splashing in the shallows, an expectant hedgehog was sunbathing, and a hyena was — drowning?

The hyena gasped for air as he desperately tried to get his tail out from between two rocks. "Help!" he managed to cry out before the tide swallowed his head.

Then a gray wolf leapt into action. He dashed down the beach, his three tails propelling him forward, and jumped into the water. He quickly swam to the hyena's aid. Narrowing his tails into three razor-sharp points, he sliced through one of the rocks that was holding the swimmer's tail captive. He took the swimmer by the arm, then mounted his tails on the two rocks, pulled himself back, and let go, sling-shotting them back to shore.

The hyena knelt on the sand and coughed up water, taking deep breaths. "You saved my life! Oh thank you, mister…"

"Tetra" he said, helping him up.

"Thank you, Tetra. That's the last time I try jumping off of Caught-Tail Cliff!" The hyena ran to gather up his stuff.

Tetra smiled and waved as he left, then sighed and walked back to the lifeguard station.

As he got up into the seat, his best friend Frizz The Bear congratulated him. "Wow, Tetra! You just saved that hyena's life!"

Tetra only sighed in response.

"What's wrong? Aren't you glad you saved him?"

"Of course I am, Frizz. It's just, this job barely entails more than telling people off for roughhousing or littering. Whenever I DO get to save a life, I know that that'll be just about the only excitement I get out of this job for at least a month."

Frizz replied, "But you're perfect for this job! Who else do you know that can turn their tails into blades sharp enough to cut through rocks and even some metal?"

"Nobody."

"And who else could get him back to shore as quickly as you with your stretchy tails?"

"Nobody."

"And don't forget how fast you are! Why, I daresay you rival Tails in speed!"

"That old geezer that lives in Red Volcano? He's so old that practically anyone could beat him in a race! Not that he'd want to, since he spends most of his time meditating."

"You know what I mean."

Tetra stared off into the distance. "I just want some excitement! What I wouldn't give for just one action-packed day of just fighting stuff, running from explosions — you know, the cool stuff from the days of Robotnik!"

Frizz said, "Stop acting so cliché, Tetra; You're fifteen years old! Just look at the positives of your life! You remember the day that old Badnik emerged from the sand and threatened that couple?"

"That thing was over four decades old and barely functional."

"But you still faced it like a hero! I know I couldn't have done that! You may not see yourself as one, but you're a hero to all who know you."

Tetra looked at him with compassion. "You always know just what to say to keep me going, Frizz."

"What're friends for?"

Tetra looked off at a fox who had just thrown a cup into the ocean. "Hey, hey! No littering!" He blew his whistle and ran off.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the ocean...

An alarm beeped dimly through the murky water. Something stirred from under the dust — it was an ancient breed of shark called a Megalodon, which was thought to be extinct. This one's name was Razor.

"What's this?" He murmured, still half asleep. "What has awoken me from my slumber?"

He went to the source, a blinking light on a dashboard. Text on a screen read, "FILTER 4 BLOCKED".

"What?!" Razor was confused. "My filters were made with every kind of animal, plant, or rock in mind! What POSSIBLY could have blocked it?"

He turned to another lump under the dust and shook it, waking his first mate (and girlfriend) Skeen the Stargazer.

"wha-What? What is it? Did we find it?" She rubbed her eyes. "Oh, hey, Razie. What's up?"

"I'm sorry to wake you, Skeenie dearest, but there's something blocking Filter 4."

"But how? You designed it with every —"

"Yes, yes, I know. Just come with me to check it out."

She uprighted herself, then followed him as they walked down the long corridors of their ancient ship. They reached the airlock and exited the ship.

When they got to the Filter, they were shocked to see a hollow cylindrical object made of some unfamiliar substance. It had the name "Ferdinand" written on its side.

"What is this thing?" Razor wrenched it away from the suction of the grate and looked it over. "Skeen, analyze."

Skeen touched the object with her forehead, giving her insight. "The Mobians call it a 'cup'. They drink out of it. This one was tossed into the sea by a fox named Ferdinand."

Razor was aghast, then furious. "The surface dwellers threw this? It could've blocked the filtration! I could've choked on my own exhalations!"

"Razor, it blocked ONE filter out of SIX."

"But still! I'm the last of my species, so I —"

"Yeah, yeah, you've gotta be extra careful. So what should we do?"

"Alert my allies! We're going to show those Moblins —"

"Mobians."

"— Mobians what happens when they mess with us!"

"And you?"

"I'm going to go looking for an old legend."


	2. Razor Gets Ready

The sun lowered on the horizon as all the beach-goers packed up and headed home. Tetra grabbed his bag and started the walk home, Frizz by his side.

"So, what have you been working on recently?" Tetra asked him.

"I've actually been working on a device that can transfer a small power source's energy into the user. I've been testing it with batteries, but they keep running out of juice!"

"Sounds like you need a bigger power source. I think I've got a car battery in my garage."

"Oh, that'd be too big. You see, the device goes on my wrist like a watch, so it can only hold something about as big as a cantaloupe."

"Gotcha. Well, I'll tell you what: if I find something, I'll gladly give it to you."

"Thanks, but what would you find?"

"I don't really know."

Tetra then realized that they were already at his house, so he said goodnight to Frizz and ran up the driveway to go to bed.

Razor stepped out of the water for the first time in years, and entered the desolate base with extreme caution. He didn't want to get electrocuted by any of the exposed wires that were hanging around. He walked down the hall and pried open a door. When he saw what was on the other side, he gasped.

 _A few hours later..._

Skeen paced back and forth. The allies she'd sent for — Dr. Skathe Porpoise, MD, and Killowatz the Electric Eel — were hanging around to the side.

"Where is he?" Killowatz demanded, growing impatient.

Skeen contemplated, "He should've been back by now..."

Skathe adjusted his glasses. "Is he even sure this is the best course of action? One Mobian littered, so he's going to attack a lot of innocents?"

Skeen replied, "I know, Skathe, but he won't settle for anything less. He's stubborn like that."

Skathe was still unsure about this.

Killowatz finally gave up. "That's it! I'm not waiting any longer!"

"No need to!" Razor's voice rang out.

They looked over to see Razor in the doorway.

"There you are! Did you get the robots?"

"Even better!" He moved aside to reveal a hooded figure behind him. "Everyone, this is X. I met him in the lab, and we struck a deal."

"What deal?"

"He told me that he'd help us get revenge if we help him locate a special gem that he's been missing from his collection."

The others nodded in agreement.

"So, where are they?" Killowatz asked, "t-The robots, I mean."

X said nothing; instead, he took out a remote and pressed a button on it. The blast screen that was covering the windshield opened up, revealing hundreds of semi-aquatic Badniks outside.

Skeen remarked, "I think that'll do just nicely..."

That night, Tetra woke to get a glass of water. He took a drink, then jumped at the sound of an explosion in the distance. 'What in the world?' he thought, running to the front door to see what was going on.

In the distance, he could make out several shiny objects at the beach. Some of them rolled on the ground, some of them flew, and some of them dug, but they all seemed to be headed straight for Gigalopolis.

Tetra looked around as other Mobians came out of their houses to investigate. They were right in the path of those things!

Tetra decided he wouldn't let any of the citizens get hurt.

Feeling a wave of adrenaline, he threw off his nightgown and sped towards the beach.


	3. Battle On The Beach

Tetra arrived at the Turquoise Hill beach to find that there were over seventy badniks scattered across the beach. He ran towards a group of them and rolled, knocking them sideways and disabling their movement. Then he turned towards another group and slashed at them with his tails, slicing them like a knife through butter. Tetra noted that there weren't animals inside, so he wouldn't have to hold back.

He looked down the beach at the sheer number of them. This was the largest gathering of Badniks he'd ever seen!

He sped down the beach with his tails propelling him along, slashing up Badniks along the way.

Meanwhile, Razor was watching the whole thing unfold with a camera that he'd mounted to a flying Badnik.

"Who is that little brat destroying the robots?" he asked with both anger and intrigue.

Dr. Skathe replied, "I was on the beach a while back, and I saw this guy. I never caught his name, but I know he sometimes works there as a lifeguard."

Killowatz remarked, "He's cutting them down as though they were sea-grass! Impressive!"

The others looked at him with contempt. "Sorry," he whimpered.

Skeen came in. "Razor, the Crab-Borg is ready!"

Razor responded, "Send it out there. Let's see how this small fry deals with this one."

Tetra continued to destroy all Badniks that crossed his path, when suddenly, the ground shook wildly. The sea bulged, then parted to reveal a 50-foot-tall crab-shaped mech with several legs and claws, razor-sharp grinders in its mouth area, and missile launchers in its eyes.

It slammed down one of its pincers in an attempt to squish Tetra, but he managed to get out of the way. He swiped at the claw with his tails, but was shocked that it had barely left a scratch mark.

'Guess I'll have to think of something else!' he said to himself.

Running to one side, he baited the mech to follow him down the beach. But the mech was faster than he'd anticipated, and it soon caught up to him, knocking him over with a swing of its claw.

"Yes!" Razor squealed with delight. "My victory is at hand!"

Tetra tried to get up, but the robot grabbed him in its claw and picked him up, swinging him until he was dizzy, then it started trying to crush him.

"Gee, what's got you all crabby?" he jeered.

And it was at that moment that Tetra spotted the power core of the mech, a brightly shining red area sat right between the crab's eyestalks.

'So that's what's making you tick!' Tetra thought to himself. He stiffened his tails and sawed at the robot's claw until the tip fell off, setting him free. Landing on one of the legs, he started to climb the mech.

Razor couldn't believe his eyes. "What is he — no, he's going for the power core! Stop him!"

The mech opened its eyes and shot out a dozen or so missiles, but Tetra dodged them with ease. He didn't want to admit it, but he was actually enjoying this!

He reached the top and wrenched open a service panel, then pried out the power source, a —

"A Chaos Emerald?!" He couldn't believe his eyes. Were the legends true?

His thought was interrupted by the mech sputtering and twitching. It jerked its claws up in one last pitiful attempt to hit Tetra, then it fell to the ground and stopped moving.

Tetra jumped down to the ground and studied the Emerald. It was a brilliant red, and he could feel its power even through his light blue gloves. A million questions ran through his head. Who sent the robot? How did they get hold of this Emerald?

He then remembered what Frizz had told him.

He had just found a power source.

Razor slammed his fists onto the dashboard. "Crap!" he exclaimed, "A puny little wolf downed one of the biggest robots we have!"

Dr. Skathe asked, "Now do you see that we shouldn't be attacking?"

Razor turned to him and pointed. "Shut your mouth, or we'll be sending you out there next!"

Skathe grumbled.

"That wolf must be something else!" Killowatz remarked. "We could certainly use him on our side!"

That gave Razor an idea. "You know what? I think you're right."

Killowatz did a double take. "Really?"

"Yeah! Why don't you go lead him to the Fool's Ruins to tell him that?"

"And how would I do that?"

"With a bit of charm, I think that you'll find that... spark."

Killowatz nodded, slithering out of the room.

Razor turned to X, who had stood there motionless. "I'm sorry, but it seems like that wolf has taken one of your gems."

X said nothing; instead, he brought out six vials of colored liquid.

"Wait, you took the essences of the other six? Well, good thinking! You're a lot smarter than I initially gave you credit! Er, no offense."

X nodded.


	4. Into The Woods

Frizz was staring at the deactivated mech in the distance, when he saw Tetra approaching him. "Tetra!" he cried, "Do you see that thing?!"

"Actually, I just got up close and personal with it."

Frizz gasped. "You don't mean..."

"Yep. And I've got the bruises to prove it."

Frizz was speechless.

"But anyway, I need your help. That wristwatch thing that needed a power source? I found one." He showed Frizz the Emerald, which made him even more bewildered.

"is - is - Is that a Chaos Emerald?! Oh my goodness, I think I might be having a heart attack."

Tetra held him upright as they went into Frizz's house.

"Now, I haven't tested it on anything more than a bag of batteries, so I have no idea what a Chaos Emerald could do to you."

"That's okay; I was always the risk-taker out of us, wasn't I?"

Frizz finished fastening the Emerald into the device, and was now calibrating it.

"Alright, turning it on in three, two, one, now!"

He pressed a button, and Tetra cringed as a lot of energy coursed through his entire body at once. But he quickly got used to it, and soon found that he could move again.

"Okay, so now what?"

"I'm pretty sure that's it. As long as you're wearing the device, you'll have access to this power."

"Is that really it? I thought I'd at least gain a new ability or something, you know?"

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see. For now, though, you'd better prepare yourself in case another attack is on its way."

"On it." Tetra began to run out of the garage, but tripped over a wire. He curled up to protect his head, but found that he didn't stop rolling. "Woah woah, what's going on?!"

"You're Spin Dashing! This is incredible!" Frizz quickly grabbed his notepad and started jotting down things.

Tetra rolled outside and straightened out, somehow stopping upright. He looked around, swaying slightly. "And I'm hardly dizzy!"

But his thought was interrupted by a metallic glimmer in the corner of his eye. He looked and saw an owl-shaped Badnik peering out to him in the darkness.

"Hold that thought, Frizz." He started to run towards the Badnik, which turned and sped off more quickly than he'd ever seen one go. He chased it into The Fool's Forest, where it disappeared into an ancient ruin that Tetra had loved to explore as a child.

But now, this place seemed a lot creepier than before. Maybe it was the way the moonlight gave everything an eerie glow, or maybe it was because he was still tired. Or it was probably all of the stone faces peering at him from the darkness.

Wait a second — The busts were all identical, except that one of the faces was missing its right eye. It seemed almost deliberate.

He poked into the eye-hole with his finger, and felt something in the back give way. There was a rumble, and the stone below him fell, dropping him into darkness.

When he landed, he could only see a small part of the cave that was illuminated by the Emerald on his wrist, as well as the moonlight that came through the hole.

"Hello? I know I probably shouldn't be calling out with baddies potentially near, but I don't know where I am!"

A deep and intimidating voice responded, "Why, you're in the depths of Fool's Ruins, child..."

Tetra shuddered, then looked up as something sealed the hole above him. "Who are you?" he demanded, swinging around his wrist to try and find the source of the voice.

"I don't know if you've heard my name, but I'm sure you've heard my stories. I took down an army of a hundred armadillos with a single touch. I swam alongside vikings and protected them from dangers, then turned on them because I felt like it. I once sneezed so hard that the Studiopolis power plant got overloaded."

Tetra stumbled blindly through the darkness, growing anxious. Suddenly, he felt a warm and slimy creature touching his back. He slowly looked up at piercing red eyes right above him.

"I'm Killowatz," he grinned, his sharp blood-stained teeth glistening in the dim red light. "And I'm here to end your little hero streak."

Tetra jumped out of the way as Killowatz swung his tail, but he rammed into a wall, knocking him down. He got up, but hit his head on a rock and became dizzy.

"Having some trouble seeing?" His slimy foe sneered. Electricity flowed through his body, sparking on his slimy scales and giving off a faint yellow light.

Finally somewhat able to see, Tetra got into a battle stance, but was quickly slammed against the wall by the owl Badnik that had brought him here. It managed to pin him down.

"Now, look, kid - I actually think you're a great fighter, and I'd love to have you on our side, but the others want me to kill you. So I'm giving you a choice: join us, or die."

Tetra asked, "What? No! You're trying to destroy the city!"

Killowatz exclaimed, "You don't understand! We're doing it because someone threw a cup into our ship, nearly killing Razor!"

Tetra thought, 'Razor?'

And then he realized: He'd witnessed that cup being thrown! It was that fox he'd seen at the beach that morning!

"Well, I'm sorry for this 'Razor' fella, but a cup isn't an excuse to start destroying a city!"

"When he's the last of his species, it is!"

"But still! That was one fox out of thousands of —"

Killowatz turned sharply towards Tetra. "I never said what species he was; how did you know he was a fox?"

Tetra faltered.

Killowatz gasped. "You saw him! You saw the fox attack, and you did nothing!" He pressed his tail against Tetra's chest, making it harder for him to breath. "So now, my mind is made up: I'm going to stick to Razor's plan, and with the help of X, we're going to bring HELL to those puny surface dwellers, starting with YOU!"

Killowatz lunged towards Tetra, who — with a burst of adrenaline — managed to slip the eel's slimy tail off of him and dodge his teeth. He spin-dashed at Killowatz while he was still down, hitting him in the throat. The eel reared up, then gagged. Something glowed yellow in his throat, which he managed to swallow again.

'Did he eat a Chaos Emerald?!' Tetra wondered, then dodged his tail as it tried to knock him out. He leapt off the wall, then spun in midair and dropped straight onto Killowatz's head, shattering most of his teeth. Killowatz screamed bloody murder, and fell down, gagging on his own blood. He hacked and coughed, until a Yellow Chaos Emerald came out. The moment it did, he started to shrink to a normal size. But as he shrunk, he grabbed one of the support pillars with his tail and pulled it down, causing half of the chamber to collapse.

"Owl!" He managed to say through broken teeth, "It'th time to fly the coop!"

The Badnik, triggered by the keywords, flew to him, picked him up in its talons, and escorted him out of the ruins.

Tetra picked himself up, took the Emerald in his hand, and watched Killowatz as he receded towards the horizon.


	5. The Mentor

"You found another one?!" Frizz exclaimed when Tetra showed it to him. "How? Where?"

"An eel named Killowatz ate it, making him grow bigger. But I gave him more than he could chew."

Frizz took a breath to calm himself.

"Now what?" Tetra asked.

"Well, I suppose we should try to use this one."

"Huh?"

"I'm thinking that different Chaos Emeralds will give different powers. So a Yellow Chaos Emerald might have a different effect than a Red one."

He unlatched the cover of Tetra's device and took out the Red Emerald. Tetra winced as the power drained from him. Frizz then placed the Yellow Emerald in and secured it, then turned it on.

"So, what power might this one give me? Maybe super growing abilities like Killowatz!"

"Well, there's no way to know for sure." Frizz gasped. "Unless… we could ask Tails!"

"What would that old fox know about Chaos Emeralds?"

"I heard stories that he was a big fan of Sonic back in the day, and he loved to read up on his exploits, which would include finding the Chaos Emeralds. If anyone knows their powers, it's him."

Tetra thought that sounded reasonable. "So, what're we waiting for? Let's go!"

Frizz stuck the Red Emerald into his backpack along with some other stuff, and they both set out for Red Volcano, where he was rumored to live.

Killowatz groaned in agony as Skathe did some dental work.

"There, that should do it." he finished.

Killowatz sat up and felt his new teeth with his tongue. They were metal, and weren't as sharp as his old ones, but they were still quite sharp.

"That dumb mutt is going to pay for destroying my beautiful chompers!"

He tried to get up, but winced. "Woah, woah!" Skathe sat him back down. "It wasn't just your teeth that got banged up back there! You've still got a bunch of cuts and bruises that I need to take care of!"

Killowatz groaned. "Skeen!"

Skeen entered the infirmary. "Yes, Killowatz?"

"I want you to take the Spider-Walker and avenge my teeth for me. Got it?"

"Of course, Killowatz, Sir. It would be my pleasure…"

Tetra and Frizz stepped onto the rocks that signified that they had reached the outskirts of Red Volcano, and were immediately hit by a wave of heat.

"Wow, that is HOT!" Tetra exclaimed, taking off his jacket. "I mean, I know lava is hot, but still!"

"Don't worry, I packed fire shields." Frizz took out two small containers with fire emblems on them. He broke one over his head, which made a flame-like substance surround him. Tetra did the same, and was surprised at how much of a temperature difference it made. He put his jacket back on, and they continued walking.

After about a half an hour, they found an old cottage on top of a cliff. The cottage was mainly rock-based, with small holes for windows and a sheet of metal for a door. They could see a kite flying on the other side of the house.

And sitting on the cliff-side holding that kite was none other than Tails. He was much older now, and that showed through his white beard. Oddly enough, he didn't have a fire shield on, but he seemed to be having no trouble staying cool.

"Hello?" Tetra cautiously asked. "Are you Tails?"

He turned his head to look at them. "Hello, Tetra. I've been expecting you."

"Woah! How did you know my name?"

"Your jacket has a name tag on it."

Tetra looked at his jacket; it was true. He blushed.

"What do you want? I'm very busy." Tails gestured to the kite.

"Flying a kite?" Frizz was confused.

"No, I'm doing the tango," he replied sarcastically. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

Tetra stepped forward. "We came to ask you about these." He motioned to Frizz, who brought out the Red Emerald, and held up the Yellow one.

Tails was shocked. "Well, I'll be damned... I never thought I'd see these again..."

He set the kite's holder in a nook between two rocks, then got up and walked up to them. "How did you find these? I though they were lost when —" he suddenly stopped, as though the memory was too painful for him.

Tetra broke the silence. "Well, the Red one was powering a Crab-Borg, and the other had been swallowed by an electric eel named Killowatz."

Tails grew angry at the mention of that name. "Oh, Killowatz. That slithering idiot has caused enough trouble already. Now he goes and swallows a Chaos Emerald?"

"He wasn't working alone. He said something about a guy named Razor, and another named X."

Tails jumped at the last name. "What? He's still alive?!" He moved surprisingly quickly for his age, grabbing Tetra's coat. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?! We need to work quickly if we're going to stop his plans!"

Tails dragged Tetra behind him as he ran into his cottage.

"Now, the Chaos Emeralds each grant the user a unique ability. Red gives enhanced attack power, Yellow gives immense strength, Blue gives levitation, Magenta has healing abilities, Green gives increased accuracy, White heightens senses, and Light Blue... Oh, the light blue one is special. It grants the user invulnerability to nearly every attack, signified by the golden-yellow color that the fur turns to. But it also corrupts anyone not pure of heart who tries to use it. When all of them are combined, their strength is greater than the sum of their parts."

Tails looked up from his notes at Tetra, who was enthralled. "I helped an old friend of mine find them all once. I managed to hold onto one of them." He pulled aside a cloth, revealing a case that contained the Light Blue Chaos Emerald.

"Woah!" Tetra exclaimed, pressing his face against the glass to get a better look.

Tails chuckled at Tetra. "Frizz told me about that thing on your wrist, Tetra. I must say, that's a very inefficient way to harness Chaos Energy. If you want, I could teach you how to do it properly."

Tetra jumped. "Yes, please!"

"Okay, the first thing you need to do is clear your mind."

"Okay." Tetra concentrated.

Tails looked over Tetra. "You're not doing it right."

Tetra exhaled. "Have you ever tried to not think of anything? Things just pop into your mind!"

"Not if you've achieved a oneness with the universe like I have." Tails closed his eyes and fell backwards, and started to levitate in mid air.

"Woah!" Tetra was bewildered.

Then he realized Tails was using his tails to stay afloat.

"Now, feel the energy of the Emerald coarse through your veins. Accept it. Become one with it."

Tetra held the Yellow Chaos Emerald in his hand, and followed Tails's instructions. The Emerald floated up into the air, and started swirling around him. He felt his muscles rippling with new energy.

"Now punch."

Tetra punched a rock pile nearby, shattering it. He opened his eyes, then shook his hand. "Woah, that barely hurt!"

"Wow, kid, you're a natural!" Tails congratulated him.

"I wanna try that with one of the other Emeralds! How 'bout that Light Blue —"

Tails slapped his hand. "No! Nobody must touch that Emerald! I already said that it corrupts anyone unpure of heart that tries to use it."

"But I'm pure of heart!"

"Saying that about yourself is the first sign that it isn't true! And I know your type; half of you wants to protect the innocent, but the other finds enjoyment in battle and wishes for more, and that desire will only lead you down a path of darkness. Once you learn to do good purely to help others, then MAYBE I'll reconsider."

Tails was about to say something else, but was interrupted by a distant explosion. They all turned and looked at the city, which seemed to be under attack by a giant spider.

"What is that thing?!" Frizz exclaimed.

"It's one of his machines. You'd better get over there, Tetra, and fast!"

"But how? That's at least a three hour walk!"

"Who said anything about walking?"

Tetra was now sat on a rock, which was atop a steam vent. "Are you sure this is safe?"

"Don't worry, I calculated the wind speeds earlier."

Frizz gasped. "Is that what you were doing with that kite?"

Tails tapped his forehead in a 'now you're thinking' gesture.

"But what'll I do about the landing?"

"You've got those tails, right? You can slow down your fall just enough so you'll only get minor bruises."

Tetra nodded, then turned to Frizz. "Aren't you gonna come along?"

"Actually, I was gonna do some research with Tails. I mean, he's been my lifelong idol!"

Tetra rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'm ready."

Tails spun his tails around to fan the heat of the vent. Pressure started to build and build, until, with a mighty BOOM!, The rock soared into the air, headed towards the city…


	6. Up a Wall

The rock landed with a great 'CRASH!' in the middle of the beach, and Tetra followed, landing on the sand with a thud. He got up, shaking off the landing, then started to run to the city, but was stopped by his boss, Kalea the Sea Lion.

"Where do you think you're going?" She demanded, furious.

"Oh, hey, Kalea! I was just about to run to the city and —"

"No you weren't! You were about to explain to me why there's this giant mech lying deactivated on my beach! I know you had something to do with it; some of my friends saw you running towards it last night."

Tetra was getting antsy. "You see, there's this shark named Razor, and he's apparently trying to get revenge on us surface dwellers because a fox threw a cup into the ocean. So he's teamed up with a guy named X, and they sent this robot, along with another one that's currently attacking the city."

Kalea looked behind her at the city and jumped in shock. "Holy smoked salmon! How did I miss that?!"

"So now, if you don't mind, I'm just gonna run over there and stop that thing."

"o-Okay, but if you survive, you'd better come back and help clean up this mess!"

"I promise!" Tetra shouted back to her as he sped off.

Kalea shook her head and said to herself, "Boy, Tetra is either the bravest teen I've ever met, or the dumbest."

Tetra arrived at the city, nearly out of breath. He looked up at the gigantic arachnid mech, which was scaling the side of a building. A female voice over a loudspeaker was cackling with malicious delight, "This is what happens when you mess with my friends!" And on the streets below were countless Badniks terrorizing pedestrians.

One of them, a pregnant pink dolphin, was cornered between three of the robots. She held her arms out over her face in fear.

'Bam! Boom! Crash!'

Tetra had come and saved her just moments before her and her unborn child's demise.

She looked up at him. "t-Thank you, sir!"

Tetra helped her up, then pointed to a nearby doorway. "Hide in there until the danger has passed."

The dolphin nodded, and did so.

Tetra then looked back up at the spider bot. Planting his tails onto the sides of two overturned cars, he pulled himself back like a slingshot and let go, launching himself straight onto the robot. He found and pulled off a maintenance panel, and climbed into a wiring duct.

He crawled along the wires until he found the main power source, a glowing blue light inside a metal and glass case. Taking out the Yellow Emerald and harnessing its power, he tore open a hole in the containment unit, and grabbed the Blue Chaos Emerald from inside.

The robot sputtered, then hung motionless on the side of the skyscraper. Skeen mashed buttons, trying to figure out what went wrong. She realized that the wolf had taken out the power source, and was now climbing out to escape.

She opened the cockpit and climbed onto the side of the robot, where she stood face-to-face with him.

"You've been a thorn in our sides from the start," she began angrily. "First, you destroyed our Crab-Borg. Then, you broke Killowatz's teeth. And now, the Spider-Walker is out of commission! Well, this'll be the last time you interfere with us, you pesky mutt."

"The name's Tetra," he said, ready to battle, "and I don't take kindly to threats against the island I care so much about. I may not know much about you, or Razor, or Killowatz or X, but from what Tails told me, you're not ones to take lightly."

Skeen snarled, then lunged at Tetra. They locked fists, trying to push each other down. Tetra sharpened his tails and slashed at her, but she dodged and started to circle him like a shark about to kill. The moment before she lunged, Tetra pulled out the Red Chaos Emerald and used its power, giving himself an increased attack. He punched her as she approached, knocking her backwards, but she wasn't done yet. She slashed at him with her sharp and venomous teeth, piercing his arm. He winced, then drew back his other arm and punched her in the gut, stunning her long enough to get in a powerful kick. She toppled over the edge, hitting one of the robot's legs and knocking it loose. But she managed to cling onto it, and pulled herself back up. She lunged towards him, but the mech — now unstable from having one of its legs detached — lurched downwards, making her miss her target. She grabbed onto the edge of the robot, dangling about a hundred feet over a certain death.

Another of the mech's legs broke from strain, making the whole thing jerk into a weird tilt, and knocking Tetra off his feet. He clung onto the other side of the robot, desperately trying to climb to safety.

The rest of the top legs broke, sending the whole thing flipping and detaching the rest of the legs. The robot plummeted towards the ground, Skeen and Tetra going along with it.

And as Tetra fell through the air to an untimely death, he remembered what Tails had taught him.

CRASH!

The mech hit the ground, crumbling and exploding into fiery debris.

And Tetra, using the power of the Blue Emerald, floated down to safety.

The Badniks, with their commanding unit down, deactivated.

Civilians came out of hiding and started cheering on Tetra.

And Razor and Co. had seen the whole thing through their observation drone.

"Skeen!" Razor mourned over the loss of his girlfriend. "She didn't make it off the bot in time! Why couldn't it have been me?!" He slammed his fist against the command module, crying streams.

Dr. Skathe mumbled something about how this wouldn't have happened if they didn't try to attack the city, but nobody paid attention to him.

Killowatz tried to comfort him. "Well, at least she didn't die in vain."

Razor looked at him with tear-stained eyes. "HOW was that NOT IN VAIN?"

"We learned two things from that! One, the wolf's name is Tetra; and two, that he's been working with Tails!"

And then a deep and haunting voice said, "Tails..."

Skathe and Killowatz froze, then looked at X. "Did he just... Talk?" Killowatz asked.

X turned to face them. "Tails..." he said again. "Let's find out where he's hiding, shall we?"


	7. Frizz Pitches In

Tetra shielded his eyes from the camera flashes as he stepped down from the rubble. But he quickly collapsed to the ground. He looked at his arm; the bite he'd gotten from Skeen was now green.

Everyone around him rushed forward to help as his consciousness faded.

A few hours later, Frizz peered through the window as the doctors tried everything they could to save Tetra.

"Oh, what do we do? What do we do?"

Tails replied, "The Magenta Emerald is the only thing that can save Tetra now."

"Oh yeah! It grants healing power! So where is it?"

"I'm afraid that they still have it, ever since..." Tails trailed off again, fighting back tears. "a-Anyways, it's bound to be on Razor's ship. You're going to have to retrieve it."

"m-m-Me?! Why not you?!"

"Because I'm 57 years old and can barely run, let alone swim and infiltrate!"

"b-But I'm not a hero! I couldn't even face a half-dead Badnik!"

"But you're doing this for your friend! Don't you think that saving your friend's life is worth the risk?"

Frizz took a deep breath. "o-Okay, I think I'm ready."

"That's the spirit! Now, you'll need this:" Tails pulled out a Water Shield and gave it to Frizz, who applied it. He saluted Tails, then ran out of the hospital and towards the ocean.

Meanwhile, a lone Badnik searched through the rubble of the Spider-Walker. It found what it was looking for, and began to drag it back to base.

Frizz located the base, and entered through one of the airlocks in the back. He checked around every corner as he snuck down hallways and past guard Badniks.

Finally, he reached a door labeled 'Storage'. But he found that it was locked with a DNA test.

Suddenly, a nearby airlock opened, and footsteps approached. Frizz hid around a corner as Razor, Dr. Skathe, Killowatz, and X walked down the hall, carrying the lifeless body of Skeen with them.

"Are you sure this'll bring her back to life?" Razor asked X.

And X replied in a voice so chilling that it gave Frizz goosebumps: "Yes, but only if you do what I told you."

They reached the Storage room, and Razor took the DNA test, opening the door and letting them in. Frizz then ducked inside a moment before the door closed again, hiding behind a barrel.

It was a fairly large room with several crates and barrels along the walls closest to the door. On the opposite side were two shelves with seven holders each. On the top shelf, the Magenta, Green, and White Emeralds sat; on the bottom sat six vials of glowing liquid, which shared the colors of all of the Emeralds sans Light Blue.

X took the Magenta Emerald from the top shelf and placed it on Skeen, who had been laid flat on her back.

"Now, you say the words," X told Razor, who leaned over his girlfriend.

Frizz took out his notepad and began to write what he heard.

"Chaos Emerald, please hear my words. I wish speak to Skeen once more, to bring her back after her untimely partition, and to hold her in my arms once more, for I love her."

The Chaos Emeralds, as well as the vials on the shelf, started to glow and levitate, Skeen's body following suit shortly afterwards.

"I do not care what happens to me, as long as Skeen is safe. Please, Emeralds, grant me this wish."

Frizz was shocked to see Razor start crying. Then he leaned over Skeen and kissed her.

And Frizz didn't know why, but he thought that this would look much worse if the two were wildly different species.

There was a bright light, and when it dimmed, Skeen was standing in front of them. Razor collapsed to the floor, most of his energy drained.

Skeen looked around at everybody's shocked faces (and X's hooded darkness) and disconcertedly said, "w-Was I dead?"

Dr. Skathe looked over her. "Wow! She's completely healed! No scars, bruises, - anything!"

Killowatz agreed, then picked up Razor. X set the Magenta Emerald onto the shelf, then took the White Emerald, and they all left the room while asking Skeen questions about what it was like when she was dead.

When he was sure they were out of earshot, Frizz made his move. He went to grab the Magenta Emerald, but detected something odd about the shelf: It seemed to have wires coming out of it. He looked at the empty holders and saw a small pin built into each, which indicated a pressure-sensitive alarm system that would be active if the others had left the room.

He searched through his backpack for something that could replace it. He then realized that he could use just about anything as long as it held down the pin. So he took a bag of batteries, as well as his driver's license from his wallet. He slid the card into the crack between the gem and the case, then slid the Emerald out, making sure to hold the pin down with the card. He then set the bag into the holder, and carefully slid the card back out. When nothing happened, he sighed in relief.

He then did the same for the Green Emerald using a bag of spare nuts and bolts.

Frizz opened the door, then tiptoed out. He checked around all the corners again, then slipped into the airlock, water shield still active from earlier, and swam to the surface.

When he breached the water, he exhaled in relief. "That was one of the most stressful moments of my life!"

And then he swam to shore, one destination in mind.

"I got the Emeralds!" Frizz called to Tails, who was waiting in the hospital's lobby.

Tails jumped up excitedly. "You got the Green one, too?! Well done! Now quickly, we need to get to Tetra's room!"

He began to run down the hall, but Frizz took him aside. "So, while I was in the ship, I saw them reviving Skeen. And when they did, they had this whole ritual, and Razor actually cried! What was that about?"

"Well, Razor isn't really a bad guy, per se. He's just a shark trying to preserve his species."

"So that's why he was so freaked out when that cup was thrown into the ocean!"

"He's actually been on a hundred-year journey trying to find remnants of his kind. Last I heard, he thought they were hiding out in the city of Atlantis."

Frizz reached into his backpack to grab his notepad and take notes, but gasped when he found that it wasn't in there. "My notepad! I must've left it on their ship!"

"There's nothing we can do about that now. Let's just save Tetra, and hope they don't find it."

Tails finished the ritual, with only some of his energy drained (as a de-poisoning ritual would logically take less energy than a revival ritual). The poison left Tetra's veins, and he slowly woke up.

Frizz went to hug him, but Tails waved him off, as Tetra was still weak from the venom.

"I... I'm awake? What happened to me?"

Frizz told him, "Skeen bit and poisoned you, but I got the Magenta Emerald to save you."

Tetra sat up. "Well, thank you, Frizz! I owe you big time! Where was it?"

"Inside Razor's ship."

"What?! How did you - ?"

"It's a long story."

"Well, I've got a bit of time while I recover. Tell it to me."

Skathe opened the door of the Storage room to get a meal, but froze when he saw that the Magenta Emerald had been replaced by a bag of batteries that was indistinct enough to even make Skeen's powers useless. He looked over, and saw it was the same with the Green Emerald.

"Killowatz! Skeen! X! Get in here!"

They entered the room and saw what Skathe saw. Razor said, "Someone was in here. Quickly, search for any signs!"

Skeen looked behind a barrel and discovered a notepad. She used her ability, and gained insight on it.

"Apparently, Tetra has a friend named 'Frizz'."

Skeen flipped through the notebook, and stopped on one page with a crude map of the island. On it were labels for Frizz's house, Tetra's house, —

And Tails's cottage.

X looked at the map. "It seems that Frizz has inadvertently led us to Tails. Set a course for Red Volcano! Let's drop by and say hi."


	8. No Use Crying Over Broken Stones

"So, remind me again: Razor actually cried during the revival ceremony of his girlfriend Skeen?"

It was an hour after the Magenta Emerald fiasco, and Tetra was having a conversation with Frizz and Tails about Razor.

"Yep. Tails told me he's not entirely a bad guy; he's just on edge, as he's the last of his species."

"I know; Killowatz said something similar. But still, we can't just forgive and forget, right? I mean, he destroyed a good portion of the city!"

"But were there any casualties?" Tails answered Tetra with a question.

"I... I don't exactly know. I mean, there was that one pregnant dolphin I saved from those Badniks."

"You mean the one on the news right now?" Frizz gestured to the TV in the corner, which was showing the dolphin (named Janet, as indicated by the news banner) being interviewed. Tetra grabbed the remote and unmuted it.

"— anything to say about the events of today?" the reporter asked.

"Well, I was headed to the hospital for my biweekly check-up, when these robots showed up and attacked me! I tried to run, but couldn't very well in my condition —" (she patted her belly when she said this) "— and they cornered me! I would've been a goner, but then a wolf with three tails showed up and took them out, then got me to a safe place and went to fight the big robot! I've never seen such bravery in all my life, and I once dated a lion tamer!"

Tetra blushed at the compliment.

Frizz was just confused about the ethics of lion taming.

"Anything else to add?" The reporter began to wrap up.

"If you're watching this, whoever you were, I just want to say thank you for saving me, and I wish you luck in your plight to keep this city safe."

The news then cut back to the news anchor. "Thankfully, she and everyone else made it out with only minor injuries. But the property damage - oh boy, that's gonna be costly!"

Tetra muted the TV again. "Okay, so nobody got hurt. But that doesn't mean we should just forgive him!"

Tails shrugged. "It's your decision." He then got up, and was about to leave the room, when he heard an explosion in the distance. They all ran to the window and saw smoke coming from Red Volcano.

"My house!"

When they got there, the place was half-destroyed, half-ransacked. Tails searched through the rubble and found the remnants of the glass case. "Where is it? Where's the Light Blue Emerald?!"

"Uhm, Tails?" Frizz pointed to the door. On it was a slightly smoking note:

" 'Just thought I'd drop by and borrow this Emerald. It's not like you were using it, right? - X.' "

Tails's eyes were full of unbridled rage. He took the note in his hands and crumpled it.

"Uhm, Tails?" Tetra asked, "Are you alright?"

Tails replied without turning around, "He's going to pay for this."

Razor, meanwhile, was now back to full health, and grinning proudly as X held the Light Blue Emerald in his hand. "Finally, we got it for you! Now, you just need to fill your end of the bargain."

"Yes, a deal is a deal. Set a course for Atlantis."

Razor did a double take. "Atlantis? We don't actually know where that is. Trust me: if I did, I wouldn't be here right now."

"Well, lucky for you, I DO know."

Razor couldn't believe what he was hearing. "w-w-What? Are you saying that you know exactly where the city I've been trying to find for the last hundred years is?"

X nodded.

"b-But how?!"

"I originally found the Red Chaos Emerald there while on an expedition."

Now Razor was struggling to keep from getting over-excited. "Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go!"

X took a pen to Razor's map, and put a big 'X' in the middle of the Green Trench. Razor turned the ship and plotted a course to it.

Tails lead Tetra and Frizz down a path on the cliffside to a cave. And inside the cave:

"The Tornado!" Frizz awed.

"Mach 3.0.7, now with a submarine transformation, and less leaking!" He smiled proudly.

"This thing looks pretty old," Tetra looked at the plane. "I'm no expert, but are you sure this thing can really hold together both in the air AND underwater?"

"She may not look like much, but we've been through a lot together. Trust me; she'll make it."

They climbed aboard, Tetra cautiously, and Frizz eagerly. Tails started the propeller spinning, then quickly hopped aboard and brought it up to speed. The plane soared out of the cave and took to the skies.

"Where exactly are we going?" Tetra shouted over the noise of the engine.

"To Atlantis; that's bound to be where they'd take the last Emerald!"

"Atlantis!?" Tetra was shocked. "How do you know where that is?!"

"Where did you think I was born?"

Tetra's eyes widened. "You were born in Atlantis?!"

"Well, it wasn't called that when I lived there. Back then, it was known as Aer Civitatem, which ironically translates to 'Air City' in Latin. That was before it sunk, mind you."

Tetra just couldn't process any of this.

And Frizz was absorbing every word.

The moment Razor saw this underwater Utopia, he knew he'd find something promising.

The city's viridian towers rose like beacons of happiness, with brilliant gold patterns adorning them. The most elaborate of these buildings was the large one in the northern quadrant, which Razor assumed to be the City Hall. And cast from the top of its spire was a large air bubble that surrounded the entirety of the city, as though it had on a water shield.

Razor's ship slipped right through the bubble, and landed on a dock in a bustling port. Thousands of foxes bustled around a nearby marketplace.

"Foxes?!" Razor was disappointed at the sight in front of him. "Where are all the Megalodons?"

"The what?" X asked.

"The — you know, my species?"

"Oh, so that's what you are."

They all stepped off the ship, X carrying a bag that contained all his vials as well as the Light Blue Emerald, and headed towards the city center.

Tails looked at his chart. "We're almost there, boys! I'm going to switch to submarine mode now, so brace yourselves!"

Tetra jerked upright. "In the middle of the air, moving at this speed?! He's gotta be joking, right?"

Tails pulled some levers and started pressing a few buttons. The windshield extended roughly, covering the cockpit.

"Or maybe he's just crazy?" Tetra added.

"I'm gonna have to agree with you on this one!" Frizz braced himself, and Tetra followed suit.

Tails pressed a final button, and the plane started to change shape. It dropped from the air like a stone, diving nose-first towards the water as Tetra and Frizz screamed.

Tails pushed another button, and the plane's wings popped back out, making the plane swoop back up, then it drifted gently down into the water, where it bobbed along the waves.

Tails started laughing. "I always love doing that. Sorry for the scare, boys."

Tetra and Frizz were trying not to have heart attacks. "No biggie," they said, the color drained from their faces.

Tails pressed a button, and the plane turned fully nautical, diving down into the blue-tinted saltwater.

As they neared the bottom of the ocean, the city came into view. Tetra and Frizz marveled at the sights they saw as they entered the city and parked in the port.

"There's Razor's ship!" Frizz pointed three spaces down where, sure enough, the ship was parked.

They got out of the Tornado and started looking around.

Tails greeted everyone he recognized: "Hey, Aaron! Haven't seen you in a long time! Aunt Abigail! How ya been? Still crocheting? Nice one! Ace, my man! How's your son doing? That's great! Alice and Amanda, my favorite twins! Or is it Amanda and Alice? I'm just messing with ya! Wow, Amber, are you pregnant? 45 days! Who's the lucky guy? Wow, I never would've expected you and Arnold!"

As you can probably imagine, this went on for some time.

Tails had just gotten to the 'D' names when they heard screaming coming from the City Hall. They rushed to the door, but it was locked. Tetra brought out the Yellow Emerald and channelled its power, breaking down the door.

Razor and X were in front of what looked like the Mayor or President or whatever, with Skeen, Killowatz, and Skathe holding the other members of the Senate hostage.

"Now, you're going to let me through, or else foxes are gonna start losing limbs!" X threatened the city's head honcho.

"Stop!"

X turned at the all-too familiar voice, and stood looking directly at Tails.

They stared at each other for about a fifteen seconds, and then X slowly walked up to him.

When he got just outside of reaching distance, he stopped. "Hello, Tails," he said, his voice as cold as ice.

"Hello, Sonic."


	9. Best Foes Forever

"Stop!"

X turned at the all-too familiar voice, and stood looking directly at Tails.

They stared at each other for about half of a minute, and then X slowly walked up to him.

When he got just outside of reaching distance, he stopped. "Hello, Tails," he said, his voice as cold as ice.

"Hello, Sonic."

X drew back his cloak; he was indeed the Blue Blur.

Everyone in the room gasped; some of them (including Frizz) fainted.

"Wait, what?!" Tetra's mouth hung agape, "X is really Sonic!?"

Tails's gaze stayed fixed onto Sonic's as he responded, "Yes"

"But I thought you said Sonic died!"

Sonic piped in, "Actually, if I know him well enough, he'd say, 'The day that...', and then just stop talking altogether."

Tetra replied, "Yeah, you're right. I must've been thinking of something else."

Tails said, "Well, here we are now, reunited after forty-six years."

Sonic quickly glanced back at Razor - who was secretly taking the essence of the Light Blue Emerald into a syringe while they talked - and then back to Tails. "It feels like only yesterday that our paths split after that fateful battle in the Doomsday Zone."

Tails eyed Sonic. "Regretting that yet?"

"Not a chance. When I saw what happened to Eggman that day, I knew I could never go back. His blood was on my gloves, and I could wash them all I wanted, but there'd always be a stain to remind me."

"Well, you could always buy new gloves!" Tails seemed to miss the point.

"No, it's a metaphor."

Tails slapped himself in the head, finally understanding. "So instead of just one evil scientist, you've decided to kill countless innocent Mobians as well? That doesn't seem like a smart move to me! You could've been forgiven, Sonic! All you had to do was accept that he was gone!"

"You don't understand how I felt!" Sonic was angrily shouting now. "I'd spent my whole life doing good without ever taking a life! I felt I was pure, but one little mistake took all that away from me!"

Tails stood there for a moment, glaring at him.

And then he slapped Sonic.

Tetra stepped forward to try and help, but Tails held out his hand. "No, this is my fight. You stop that foolish Megalodon who thinks he's being sneaky."

He pointed to Razor, who looked up in embarrassment.

Tetra ran to stop him, while Tails and Sonic started a duel forty-six years in the making.

Tetra chased Razor as he, Killowatz, Skeen, and Skathe fled the building. Killowatz sent some electricity through the ground, which was surprisingly conductive. But luckily, Tetra's shoes had rubber soles, so he was largely unaffected.

Skeen didn't want to die again, so she kept running.

Skathe pulled out a remote control and pressed a button, and a getaway hovercraft came from their ship a moment later. They climbed aboard, and Skeen pressed a button, making a rocket launcher come out of the trunk. As they flew away, they shot missiles at Tetra. But Tetra was quick, and dodged all of them.

Tails and Sonic were now locked in a battle to the death. Tails swung his cane at Sonic, but he dodged. Sonic spun towards Tails, knocking him backwards. He then brought forth a series of jabs, bringing Tails to his knees. But Tails spun around, knocking Sonic off his feet with his tails. He jumped up and started flying, just out of Sonic's reach. He smacked him with the cane again, but his tails tired out quickly, and he dropped onto Sonic's head. Sonic tried to throw off Tails, who was tearing at his ears with his short claws. Sonic managed to whip him off, slamming him into a wall and punching his face repeatedly. Tails then smacked Sonic in the groin with his Tails, knocking him down. Tails wiped the blood from his nose and lunged towards Sonic.

At some point, Sonic's satchel - which contained his vials - was thrown off of him and into a corner.

Frizz, meanwhile, was still unconscious.

Tetra leapt towards Razor's escape craft, clinging on to the back. Skeen punched at him, but Tetra dodged them, and used his tails to slice off the craft's rocket launcher. He flipped himself on board and started to beat the ever-living hell out of the four. Killowatz smacked Tetra's legs with his tail, and tore at his ear with his metal fangs, knocking him off the craft. But in the chaos, they'd stopped paying attention to where they were going, and crashed into a building, sending them all flying. They all landed in town square, where a bunch of foxes watched as they got ready to fight.

Tetra pulled out all the stops, bringing out the five Emeralds he'd collected, and channeling all their powers. His muscles strained from the raw energy he had gained. The four baddies cowered as he charged at them.

Sonic threw Tails off of him, pinning him to the wall and breaking ten of his ribs. He searched his pockets, realizing that he didn't have any of the Emeralds. He threw Tails to the side and walked to the door, where he saw Tetra in the distance beating up the other four, and prepared to do what he did best.

Tails tried to get up, but couldn't through the pain in his chest, so he could only watch as Sonic began to run.

Tetra finished his assault on the four, and was about to take back the emerald they had on them, when Sonic ran into him, knocking him off his feet. His Emeralds fell to the floor, then were picked up by the blue blur. He dashed to Razor and took the Emerald from his bag.

"I was originally planning to use the vials, but why do that when I can have the originals?" he cackled, holding all 7 Emeralds, then headed back to City Hall.

Tetra got up and chased after Sonic, who had just gone through a door behind the Mayor's seat. He managed to get there just in time to see Sonic place the seventh Emerald into its hole in the wall.

The city started to shake, knocking everyone there off of their feet. The ports drew in all their ships for safety, keeping them in hangars as the western and eastern portions of the city began to move. They folded in to encompass City Hall, and the southern end transformed, becoming a point. Soon, the entire city had been turned into a ship reminiscent of a Star Destroyer, with City Hall serving as its Bridge.

The room Sonic was in moved up, leaving Tetra behind as it became the command center.

Tetra looked for Tails, finding him in a group of his relatives, who were tending to his wounds. "What's happening?!" he had to shout to be heard over all the noise this was making.

"He's turned the city into a weapon of mass destruction!"

"Why can the city do that?"

"It was for self defense. But they spent most of the money to do this, leaving little for the architects to use to keep the city safely above water. They then realized that it was too dangerous, so they made its only power source the seven Chaos Emeralds, which were very rarely in one place at the same time."

Sonic's voice came over a loudspeaker: "You've failed, Tails. Now watch as your home destroys everything you love."

The ship turned so Gigalopolis was directly in its sights. Sonic pressed a button, and a laser began charging on the front of the ship.

Upon seeing a spaceship-shaped city flying towards their city, the mayor of Gigalopolis issued a city-wide evacuation. Most of the citizens were able to get out of harm's way, but the 300 or so who lived in the center, as well as the 230 Mobians who lived within the destruction zone of the Spider-Walker, couldn't get out in time. The laser fired, completely destroying the city and damaging its outskirts.

The explosion woke Razor and co. He looked at the city, which was now a smoldering wreck, and toothily smiled. "He did it!" He cheered, jumping up and down despite his injuries. Killowatz and Skeen joined him.

Dr. Skathe, however, looked at the city; at all the innocents who'd just been killed, injured, or left without a home. He'd been unsure about this from the start, but he hadn't done anything. And now, these deaths were partially on his hands.

He had to do something about it.

He looked at Razor's bag, which was on the floor, and knew what he had to do.


	10. The Vial

Tetra shook Frizz, who was still unconscious, but he didn't stir. "What'll we do now?"

Tails coughed. "Normally, this would be the part where Sonic would take out the Chaos Emeralds, but that's obviously not happening."

Tetra looked about, spotting Sonic's satchel across the room from them. He picked it up and looked through it, pulling out the six colored vials in it.

"That mad genius!" Tails gasped. "He took the essences of them so that, if he didn't have the Emeralds, he'd still be able to use the city!"

"Can we use them to retaliate?"

"Let me see." Tails took the six vials and attempted to harness their powers, but couldn't. "Their power is incomplete. We'll need the seventh one."

Tetra looked through the bag. "It's not in here."

"Looking for this?"

Tetra and Tails looked at the door, where Skathe stood, holding the light blue vial in his hand.

"Dr. Skathe?" Tails recognized him. "What're you doing?"

"I was against Razor's plan from the beginning, and I was wrong not to act on my instincts. I'm a porpoise of healing, not hurting." He handed Tetra the seventh vial. "Now go, and save the rest of the world."

Tetra nodded, then began to harness their powers.

Suddenly, Tails grabbed his leg. "Wait!" he began, fearing what the Light Blue Emerald's power might do to Tetra.

Then Tails looked into his eyes, at the confidence and intent of his soul.

"Good luck."

Tetra nodded, then continued. The vials started to glow and float, making him do the same. Pure power rippled through his muscles as his fur turned yellow.

He rocketed upwards, blasting through the ornate dome of City Hall. He located the command center - where Sonic was turning the ship to head towards Angel Island - and began ro rocket towards it.

'The worst thing about huge ships is that it takes them forever to turn,' Sonic thought to himself, then jumped when Tetra broke through the wall to his left. He got up and looked at the now Super wolf.

"Well, I see you learned how to —" Sonic began, but was promptly punched in the face by Tetra, sending him flying. He hit a wall and slid to the floor, spitting out three of his teeth.

Tetra turned to the control wall and pried the Emeralds out of it. Immediately, the ship began returning to its original position, regaining its air bubble, and it started to change back into a city.

Sonic got up and leapt towards Tetra, knocking them both through the wall. Sonic clinged on as Tetra tried to shake him off.

Tetra dove outside of the air bubble, submerging them both in the ocean as the city settled. They fought for a bit, then Sonic punched him in the gut, making him lose composure and, as a result, his Super form. The Emeralds, as well as the vials, sunk down into the depths of the ocean.

Sonic and Tetra struggled a bit, then Tetra knocked him over the head, subduing him.

Suddenly, Sonic started to struggle as he began running out of oxygen. Tetra was torn on whether he should save him.

Then their eyes met, and Tetra saw the fear in Sonic's eyes.

Tetra's mind was made up.

He grabbed Sonic by the chest, and used his tails to propel them along. They made it into the air bubble, but then they were faced with a new problem: they had entered near the top of the dome, and were now falling towards the streets below.

Tetra held onto Sonic as they plummeted. Using what he'd learned earlier, he twirled his tails to slow their fall enough so that they didn't die when they hit the pavement below.

The citizens crowded around them and started chanting.

"I…" Sonic could barely think of what to say. "You saved me?"

Tetra nodded.

"Well, you're lucky," Sonic groaned, "and I wasn't."

"I don't know what happened, but from what I heard from Tails, it was an accident. It's okay to accept your mistakes, as long as you don't let them control your life."

Sonic looked at him. "Are you really trying to squeeze a moral out of this?"

Tetra blushed.

Three weeks later…

Things had changed for the surviving citizens of South Island. There was a large voluntary effort to rebuild Gigalopolis, lead by Tetra and Frizz. Sonic had been arrested for partially successful genocide. Razor, now content, had fled with his cohorts — except for Skathe, who stuck around to help clean up the mess they'd caused — to continue their search for the Megalodons. Tails, his house having been destroyed, moved to the Mystic Ruins, and every day, he received a bouquet of flowers as thanks for teaching Tetra. The Emeralds, thanks to Tails, had been scattered across the island, buried where nobody would ever find them. Janet the dolphin, thankfully, survived the attack, and went on to have a baby girl, giving Tetra the honor of being her godfather.

And Tetra, now hailed as hero, returned to his lifeguard duties in Turquoise Hill.

"Well, Tetra," Frizz began as they worked in his garage, "are you happy now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember? You wanted some excitement and to be hailed as a hero. Are you now satisfied?"

"Yeah, I think that was enough action for a while."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the garage door. Frizz flicked the switch, and the door slid up, revealing a familiar red echidna standing behind it.

"Knuckles!?" Frizz nearly fainted again. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard that there was a hero here, so I came to ask for help."

Tetra couldn't help but start smiling. "What is it?"

"The Master Emerald's reactivating Badniks, and I can't figure out why!"

Tetra looked at Frizz, who adjusted his goggles. "We're in," they both said in unison.

Knuckles motioned for them to follow him. They went out and saw Tails in the Tornado, then jumped in.

As the engine started up, Frizz asked Tetra, "What happened to 'That's enough action to last me a while'?"

"Well, I'm not gonna pass up an opportunity to help innocents!"

"You do realize that Angel Island's only real inhabitant is Knuckles, right?"

"Yep."

Frizz rolled his eyes, then smiled as the plane got up to speed and took off, sending them off on another adventure.

THE END...

Don't miss Tetra's next adventure, "Tetra and the Master Emerald's Mission"!


	11. (Prequel) Origins

Forty-six years ago...

An alarm blared as the Death Egg started to implode on itself. Pipes were bursting, lights popped, and panels fell out and exposed flaming wires.

Through this chaos ran Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, in hot pursuit of Eggman, who was making off with the Master Emerald. Sonic leapt at his speeder one final time, breaking through the shell and causing the mechanisms inside to falter and jam, overheating the engine. Eggman leapt out a moment before it exploded, crashing on the ground and dropping the Emerald. He got up and ran away, getting into a new robot as the giant gem fell off the platform.

"No!" Knuckles exclaimed as it went down, down…

And then it was caught by Eggman's new robot, which had gotten into a ship. It fired up its rocket boosters and flew into an asteroid field.

"Sonic!" Tails exclaimed, pointing at the Doctor, "It's up to you now! Stop him from getting away!"

"Okay!" Sonic pulled out the Chaos Emeralds and channeled their power, turning into Hyper Sonic and flying after him.

He crashed through a few asteroids, picking up rings that had been scattered by the Death Egg, and caught up to Eggman's ship. Some heat-seeking missiles came out, but Sonic was clever; he lured them into flying straight at the ship, then pulled away, causing them to hit it. The ship exploded, and out came Eggman's robot, Master Emerald in tow.

Sonic chuckled. He was having fun!

Sonic bashed into the robot a few times, and it was over. It cracked open, causing the Master Emerald to fall back to Earth.

But Eggman wasn't so lucky. He grabbed his neck, choking on the vacuum of space. Sonic realized what was happening, but by then, it was too late;

Eggman floated there lifeless, having asphyxiated.

And Sonic had caused it.

He was traumatized. All his life, he had protected all creatures, even bad ones. But now, to save lives, he had taken one. And all because he'd gotten carried away in the fun of the battle.

He looked at his hands contemplatively. He felt just as cruel as the late Doctor.

Tails landed the Tornado on Angel Island after having caught the Master Emerald with the help of Knuckles. "Where's Sonic?"

Then he spied the yellow form floating down to them. He landed on the runway behind them, turning normal again and dropping the Emeralds.

"There you are!" Tails ran up to congratulate him. "We caught the Emerald, and are just about to put it back."

Sonic said nothing; instead, he still stared down at his hands.

"What's wrong, Sonic? We won! We beat Eggman!"

"He's dead..."

Tails gasped. "He is?! How?"

"Suffocated in space. And I caused it."

"Well, that's good, right? No more Doctor, no more problem!"

Sonic's head jerked in Tails's direction. "That's not the point, Tails! I made a vow not to kill another living being, no matter how evil! And now, because I was careless, I've broken that!" He closed his hands in anger. "I don't deserve to be a hero."

"What are you talking about, Sonic? Eggman was evil! He would've killed so many more creatures had you not stopped him! What's one life in comparison to thousands?"

"You wouldn't understand, Tails; you weren't the one who killed him. You didn't watch the life disappear from his eyes."

Sonic turned away and sulked off.

Tails turned to Knuckles. "Should we be worried about him?"

"I may not have known him for long, but I know he's a hero through and through. He'll come to his senses. In the meantime, help me put the Master Emerald back."

Sonic sat in Knuckles's storage shed, a picture of him tacked onto the wall. He sat in the fetal position, mulling over everything.

He looked up at the picture; at that jubilant smile plastered on his face that virtually screamed, 'I'm the best of the best, and you can't prove otherwise!'

He shook his head. 'Well, Mr. Perfect, I just found your smoking gun.'

He got up quickly and lashed out at the poster, grabbing it by the end, and tearing down the center of his face. He ripped the pieces into fragments, then the fragments into scraps.

He looked at the bits of paper in his hands, at the hedgehog he once was, and started crying.

Then something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. There was a rowboat in the shed, covered by a brown sheet. Light seeped through the cracks of the walls, casting a nearly perfect 'X' onto the cloth.

Sonic's eyes narrowed as he had an epiphany. He grabbed the cloth, as well as a rope from a pile nearby, and made a makeshift cloak. Around his head it went, covering everything except for his face, which was now shrouded in darkness.

"I am X," he said, letting go of one of the pieces of the poster. "And I'll show you just how much of a bad guy I can be."

Tails and Knuckles finished moving the Emerald into its holder. With a bright flash, the island harnessed its power, slowly floating back into the air.

They went to leave the temple where it was stored, but stopped when they saw Sonic in front of them, wearing the cloak.

"Sonic, there you are! What's with the getup?"

Sonic looked at him, an angry kind of fire in his eyes. "Do not call me by that name. I am X now."

Tails was confused; Knuckles knew what was about to happen, getting into a battle stance.

Sonic pulled out the Emeralds and began to harness their power, but Knuckles punched him in the face, sending him flying into a pillar.

Tails rushed to Knuckles' side as Sonic got up. He began to walk menacingly towards them, but the pillar he'd been sent into collapsed, bringing down the roof between them.

Two of the Emeralds, the Green and Light Blue ones, rolled to Tails's feet. He picked them up, then jumped at the sound of Sonic trying to break out of the rubble.

Knuckles turned to Tails. "Run! Get into the Tornado, and fly as far away from here as you can, where he'll never be able to find you!"

"But what about you?"

"I'll stay here and stall him. Now go!"

Tails turned and ran to the exit, turning back just once to see Knuckles waving him off.

Sonic broke free, then turned to face Knuckles.

"Now, let's be reasonable here," Knuckles began, "You're still the same deep down, right?"

Sonic dashed forward, grabbing Knuckles by the dreadlocks and swinging him around. Knuckles tried to stop him, but Sonic threw him, sending the echidna careening into a wall. He grabbed on, climbing up, then jumping down and pile-driving Sonic into the ground.

A glow came from under him, and he was thrown off of Sonic - with the help of the Yellow Emerald. Knuckles' head hit the wall, knocking him unconscious.

Sonic looked at the exit, then the rubble pile. Digging through, he retrieved the four other Emeralds, then left the premises.

When Knuckles awoke, it was already dusk. He got up, then searched the island for Sonic.

Eventually, he checked his shed, and discovered that his rowboat was missing.

"Without my rowboat, there's no way for me to get off this island." Knuckles said to himself. "I just hope that Tails can manage without me, at least for a little while..."

After about two days in the rowboat, Sonic decided to give up the search for Tails. He turned the boat, and headed to the one place he knew would be a suitable home for him:

The late Dr. Eggman's Lab.

Tails landed the plane on a small crag by a volcano on an island just south of Green Hill. He wiped his brow in the heat, then tried to contact any of his friends, but the island was simply too remote. He sighed and set to work building a shelter, in hopes that one day, Sonic might come to his senses on his own.


End file.
